Friday, August 12, 2011

Samuel & Quarter (Indiana Pet Photographer)

This is a bittersweet post. My husband and I have a lot of cats. In some ways, as Sam describes it, it is like two "cat ladies" married each other! Yes, it is weird, but we cannot seem to say "NO!" to a needy cat. We have two gangs in our household- the Oldies, and the Kittens. Four in each group. One of our oldest is Quarter. Quarter is fourteen this year, and I have had her in my life since she was less than a week old.

I can still remember it like yesterday- the neighbor boy knocked on our door, and asked if we had kittens. In the chill of October he had found 4 baby cats, crawling across our lawn! So we didn't have kittens, and then we did! I took all four in, and bottle fed them. Unfortunately, kittens can be incredibly fragile, and being left outside in the cold for who knows how long took its toll. Quarter was the only one to survive, and that was how she earned her name!

Fast forward ten years, and a man enters my life too. A man I can't live without. A man that Quarter has attached herself to, in a way I'd not seen before. She will sit on his chest if he is sitting down. If he stands up, she wraps arms around his neck, and just goes where he goes. A friend introduced us to the possibility of her having Burmese in her, and after reading about the breed, we have no doubt! They are known as the "monkeys" of the cat world, and since then Sam has called her "His Monkey".

Fourteen alone is a decent life for a cat, but about two years ago another complication was added to Quarter's life. She was diagnosed with gingivastomatitis (which is not like gingivastomatitis in humans). In cats, it is not cureable, and treatments are often short-lived options. Basically, it is like her gums are allergic to the tartar on her teeth. We've got her on steriods to help with the inflammation and pain, but it often feels like we're just slapping a band-aid on it. Her latest flare-up was bad. She developed an ulcer in her mouth & we didn't know it until she yawned one day while sitting on Sam's lap! Her vet recommended a steriod injection, which has helped, but we worry about how long this can continue. So at my suggestion, Sam let me do a little photo session with him & His Monkey. Here are some of the results. ~Naomi


2 comments:

  1. So sorry to hear this, guys. :( Hang in there.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's so hard when you lose such a special pet. :( -Eruname

    ReplyDelete

I LOVE comments, so feel free to leave them! (Just be nice!)

Please note to pass the captcha you will need to enter both letters and numbers!